The charismatic, witty, empowering feminist Sandra Eden is the protagonist of the thrilling historical fiction Sandra Eden’s War by Michael Low. While the story follows the adventures of Allied Power’s SOE officers and French Marqui officials, the story centers around Sandra Eden, a female SOE officer that is determined to fulfill her role of disrupting the German troops in and around Normandy to distract them from Allie Power’s soon-to-be formulated attack known as D-Day. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars for Low’s execution of applying his expertise with aircraft and aero-engines into his writing and immersive storytelling that is told through its jargon’s time period and culture.

The author’s rich background of aircraft and production of aero-engines is shown throughout the book as his passion for his profession bleeds through the pages. The book has a certain charm when the writer introduces his own expertise about airplanes such as the Lysander and the inner workings of the aircraft. 

In order to completely immerse the audience into the setting of Normandy in WW2, Low introduces jargon such as “roman candle” which is what “a failed parachute-opening was nicknamed” (14). This secret code sells the idea that these SOE agents have to be careful while wandering around enemy territory or will risk the fear of getting caught. Even when the characters leisure around Normandy in pubs or restaurants, codes such as “is the wind from the east” or “the price of butter is coming down” makes the reader snap back into the grave reality that the characters are constantly in danger and have an important mission to complete. There is also insight on the OSS, “Jedburgh” team, and SOE agents that were present during D-day which are some fun facts to keep in your back pocket.

I love the incorporation of the french language inside the book that is unapologetically realistic to how the people in Normandy speak back then and present day. When I read books that take place in different countries and share different cultures, it’s hard to take seriously when the author doesn’t give the time or effort to completely submerge the reader into the setting that they are reading. Something as simple as incorporating another language to the book lets the scenes play out more realistically for the readers and have the audience understand the context of the slang and dialogue that’s exclusive to Europeans. 

Right from the start on page 31 where Sandra Eden is ordering the Marqui soldiers, it’s refreshing to see the main character protagonist be a strong woman that proves herself to be the most certified from the men that she leads. The scene where “Michel offered a lighted match and she took a deep draw” is a clear distinction between the two agents in their respect towards each other and their power dynamic. When Sandra Eden is questioned by Henri about her ability to keep up with the rest following this mission, he states “it will be very dangerous especially for a woman,” and she answers, “I shall be leading you!” It’s great to root for our protagonist when another character tries to undermine their strengths, and Sandra Eden proves in more than enough times that she’s able to handle the book’s obstacles.

The reason why I rated this book a 3 out of 4 instead of a perfect score is because of the character development that is noticeably weaker than the action-packed plot. The pacing of action scenes is very rapid which makes for an exciting and thrilling read, but I found myself reading a high-intensity bomb scene in the span of 2 minutes and thinking, “That was quick.” The rapid pacing of the action sequences is not the problem but rather the characters involved were the problem. 

Sandra Eden was likable because we were given a brief background about her SOE training and her struggles with being homesick while constantly biking around a foreign country. However, the other characters were not given the same attention and these characters were present in every action scene along with Sandra Eden. While this book was in the third person omniscient, there were chances where there could be a further insight into the Marqui soldiers and their internal anxiety throughout their stay in Normandy. There’s a missed opportunity for the reader to empathize with the rest of the characters besides Sandra Eden and Michel, and this empathy would have completely optimized the action in the book. I would have liked to root for the characters more when they ran into success, and I would have liked to care more when the characters ran into defeat. There weren’t any strong feelings towards any of the characters which prevented me from caring about the outcomes of their missions.

There’s little to no spelling or grammatical errors, but if I was to nitpick on page 109, “I can ensure that you get plenty of the necessary supplies and equipment from London that you will need to disrupt the rail links all around this area, and help prevent reinforcements being brought up by the Germans that might limit the movement and advance of our Allied troops” does not need a comma. There is only one subject “you” in this compound sentence which is why the comma isn’t needed to separate the subject from the predicate. On page (137), “It moved and the door opened,” there should be a comma between ‘moved’ and ‘and.’ This is a compound-complex sentence with two subjects, so the comma should be present. There are no erotic scenes and no vulgar language in this book.

This book is best suited for a reader looking for a daunting and thrill-seeking adventure and who isn’t concerned with empathizing or learning more in-depth characterization with the other side characters.